A Golden Moment Replaces Painful Memories

Park Kap-duk, grandmother of the Sydney Olympics gold medal winner in men's archery Jang Yong-ho, prayed during his grandson's match that his "other dream" might also come true. Jang's two life-long dreams were to win a gold medal in the Olympics and to find his biological mother.

"I wish news of his win spread abroad so that he may find his mother," Park said in tears. He performed a rite service every morning since her grandson's departure for Sydney.

Jang, 24, was brought up by his grandmother after his mother left him in the early 1980s and hasn't heard from her since. It was a time when the family experienced a severe financial difficulty.

To Jang, who held his first bow in the fifth grade of Kwa-yuk Elementary School, his grandmother and archery meant everything. The grandmother provided him emotional comfort, while archery made Jang forget his painful memories and gave him a purpose in life.

Thanks to his devotion to archery, he won the first place in two consecutive years at the National Archery Competition while attending Kwangju Athletic Senior High. Later at the Altlanta Olympics, he won the silver medal in the singles competition.

Jang suffered a severe back injury a few years back but soon recovered.

by Ku Doo-hoon